Private exchanges are a subset of online ad exchanges. They’re sometimes referred to as “private marketplaces.” A private exchange is an invitation-only, RTB auction owned by a specific publisher that is only open to select buyers. Private exchanges are designed to offer more transparency with the ease of an exchange. Approved buyers can be media professionals at agencies, agency trading desks or even DSPs. Only authorized and approved buyers can purchase inventory through private exchanges. In a private exchange, inventory is bought and sold in real-time at an impression level. It’s done through one-on-one deals between the publisher and buyer. Rubicon, PubMatic and OpenX are all examples of SSPs that run private exchanges for publishers.

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